Guide to making authentic Italian food

Do you love eating Italian food? Want to try making it at home? All you need is a love of eating and a desire to learn. No need to know everything about cooking. I have quickly put together this page with links to all my top content to help you get started.

I have to confess that before I started this site, I never measured anything. I cooked using my senses of sight, taste, smell, sound and touch. The result was that every time I made a dish, it would turn out differently depending on my mood and who I was feeding. Although the dish may change, each variation can produce equally good results.

I imagine that each person using my recipes will likely alter the dish to suit their taste and situation. By following the recipes in spirit, the methods of cooking and the familiarity with the ingredients will become second nature. So over time feel free to imbue the dish with a piece of yourself, start using your senses rather than following the recipe to the letter and let your imagination flow freely.

Try

As part of raising a family, I cook several times a day, researching different recipes and techniques and trialling them, making a tweak here and there until I am satisfied. Then I photograph it step-by-step and share them with you. You can find the recipes broken down into course (starter, main course, etc.) or by dietary restriction (dairy free, vegetarian, healthy).

Did you try a dish in Italy you love and would like to recreate at home? Look through the recipes listed by region to find the one you are looking for.

Buy

Great Italian food is always based on good quality ingredients but this does not mean they have to be expensive. I’ve created a guide to ingredients to ensure that you select the best, most flavoursome ingredients and have the knowledge to prepare and store them properly to maximise flavour, freshness and nutrition. Some of the best dishes are the most simple, relying on the quality of the ingredients to shine through.

Cookware is like jewellery to me. I can spend hours perusing a great cookware shop. However, having lived in tiny apartments in New York and China as well as having rented holiday homes with the family, I am keenly aware of what is necessity and what is luxury and can provide a few life hacks to see you through. Armed with this guide to kitchen equipment, feel confident about buying the right cookware for the appropriate purpose and know how to use and maintain it properly.

Finally, for my dear friends in Hong Kong and China, I know too well the daily frustration of finding quality ingredients and the time and effort consumed in visiting 3 shops to find ingredients for one dish. After innumerable incidents necessitating an emergency replacement of cookware, I am also familiar with where to purchase quality cookware and bakeware. I have put together not only a list of shops but also what relevant ingredients and equipment they sell (and brands that I would buy myself) in an effort to save you some time and tears.

Technique

Does preparing the food make you tired even before you start cooking? Here I share some tips with you to not only save you time and effort but to ensure a perfect outcome every time. The only thing worse than spending the time is the wasted effort.

Do you love cooking but find baking often ends in disaster? Find here a few golden rules on baking bread and baking cakes. Follow these simple rules to ensure a perfect outcome every time.